Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Ready to Sew

While I was planning my orders and cutting out fabric the other day, my daughter, Avalon sat on the other end of the table doing the same thing. When I finally surfaced from the abyss of my concentration for a moment, I discovered the quality of her creations. Remember: she will be 7 in 2 weeks. At 12 months old, she could hold a pencil correctly. By 15 months, she could make rows and rows of little circles in a straight line. When she was 2 years old, she decided that crayons do not give the precision of colored pencils, and crayola and roseart colored pencils did not have the intensity of color she could get out of Prismacolors, so she fell in love with Mom's Prismacolors.

They have since been dragged all over the world with her, the way stuffed animals or blankets are dragged by other children. They have been worn down to nubs, and repaced, one by one, at a dollar a pencil. She has also begun to experement with watercolor, acrylic, poster paints, and oil pastels. she has been begging for art lessons, which she will begin this summer, and sewing lessons, which she began the day before yesterday.

I thought she might be ready. You think so?

This ain't no stick figure!

Look at the detail in this little face!

So, we began our first sewing lesson. She decided to make a Barbie pillow and blanket, which is a perfect starter project. She cut it out, and sat down to sew. despite the knowledge I already had of her creative skills, I was amazed at the confidence and fluidity of movement with which she attacked her project.

There is no mistaking that she had these skills before she ever came to this earth to be my daughter. What a stewardship I have been given! To nurture without manipulation, inspire without control, encourage without obligation.